Racing
Bedggood ‘Wood love Ballarat Cup success
Gavin Bedggod seeks redemption with Kingswood at Ballarat
Gavin Bedggood celebrated Stakes success at Caulfield on Saturday but that does not mean he went home to Cranbourne entirely satisfied.
The canny horseman knew before the meeting had even started that he pulled the wrong rein with stable stalwart Kingswood.
Bedggood scratched the gelding from the Eclipse Stakes, for which he was favourite, expecting that the gelding would not appreciate the Soft 7 track condition on race morning only to see expected rain not arrive and the track upgraded to a Soft 6 early in the meeting.
Even after he had won the $200,000 Group 3 Eclipse Stakes with Casino Seventeen, Bedggood was still lamenting not starting Kingswood.
"I've felt sick about it all day," Bedgood said after the win.
"It was a Soft 7 this morning, they run the first race and they upgraded and we've had no rain. If the owners were upset at me I wouldn't blame them either.
"It was going to be wet and it hasn't eventuated. That was my blue.
"I didn't want to give him a gut-buster with the idea of backing up next Saturday, so I thought we'd reserve him for that."
Kingswood will get his shot at redemption in this Saturday's $500,000 Listed Ballarat Cup (2000m).
Kingswood is likely to run alongside Casino Seventeen, who scored his first win since joining Bedggood from Perth trainers Grant and Alana Williams in the Eclipse Stakes.
Saturday's win quirkily took Casino Seventeen's record to 55 starts for 11 wins, 11 seconds and 11 third placings in a career that started with Lloyd Kennewell and took in stints in South Australia, Darwin and New South Wales before joining the Williamses.
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